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I care for my partner who has Parkinson's. Her meds are quite complex - 6 items, all begun at different times in the past, so reordering times do not all coincide. I tend to reorder and collect 3 times a month. Health Centre is 300 yards one way and Lloyds Pharmacy is 300 yards the other. I order from the Health Centre online and collect from Lloyds when I think they're likely to be ready. It's worked reasonably well, but I've just been and the floor is now marked out with tape where you should wait at safe intervals. That allowed about 5 people in at one time. When I left, all spaces were occupied and one member of staff was manning the door to let people in and out. They offer a delivery service, but the driver looks about the same age as me - 76. Obviously I'd like to change to a complete online service - Echo is the one offered by Lloyds with delivery by the Post Office. Does anyone have any experience of this?
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Re tablets, I agreed with doc for a one off repeat script to make all align re dates.
All were produced in 28 day packs so now I re- order all on line every two months.
Simpler for all, fewer prescriptions and no repackaging by the chemist.
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Ours used to prescribe 2 months at a time but now will only do one month which is irritating, except they will do more if you are e.g. away for a mont.
Re OP query, I have no personal experience of delivery but I imagine you could order all at once to reduce the effort for all, despite the dates being different, so long as your overall amount remains the same over a month or whatever.
Also, if you aren't already, see if your surgery offers the online app for ordering repeats - makes life so much easier.
You add your preferred chemist (or presumably delivery service), which in my case is Tesco.
My surgery always issue the prescription within 3 days, and it is sent automatically to Tesco and I get a text from Tesco when it is ready for collection, so I just collect with my next shop, or when I'm passing. It's even been same day for the past few times as I think the surgery now has a member of staff other than the doctor who can approve them, but I am expecting it to be not so quick next time around!!
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Sadly I also have a number of different medications. My surgery has on-line ordering which I use and over the last few years have built up a small buffer stock at home (a few weeks, not several months).
This means that perhaps once a month I order online and then collect direct frrom chemist 3 or 4 days later. I don't have to worry about running out, rather more critical right now with movements somewhat restricted.
For patients with long term conditions, I do not understand why they only issue a month at a time. It creates more work for the doctor, and more for the chemist. In principle it should not make any difference to the total cost of drugs dispensed if they were issued 3 monthly. I can only assume the doctor is doing the chemist a favour if the chemist income is (partly) related to the number of prescriptions processed.
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>>Also, if you aren't already, see if your surgery offers the online app for ordering repeats -
>>makes life so much easier
>>You add your preferred chemist (or presumably delivery service),
I use this and the app stores my preferred chemist.
My access was changed to allow me to include some text.
e.g requesting a non repeat item that has previously been prescribed a while ago.
I am not sure of the general current situation re this.
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>> My access was changed to allow me to include some text.
>> e.g requesting a non repeat item that has previously been prescribed a while ago.
>> I am not sure of the general current situation re this.
Periodically it will be reviewed by your GP who will leave it as is or discuss with you. Currently my chemist has asked to wait 72 hours before picking up online prescribed meds, rather than the normal 24.
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My virtually housebound mother gets deliveries from the pharmacist and it works well.
Yesterday I asked for a repeat prescription on line for my first time. It ought to be delivered to my specified pharmacy - we'll see.
I saw a loose rabble of folk outside the pharmacy last week. They weren't forming a queue and it looked a bit odd, maybe as though there had been a fire alarm. I have since found out that nobody is allowed in and as the staff open to door to hand out a prescription to one of the waiting throng they will take in a paper prescription or purchase request for attention.
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Sorry if I've not made it clear - I already use the online app for ordering repeats and collect from the pharmacy. In present circumstances I don't want to go to the pharmacy if I can avoid it.
Recently the doctor prescribed an additional med by accident. When I declined it at the pharmacy I was told it would be going in the bin. Needless to say, I took it in case I can pass it to someone else who has run out. Maybe that policy has something to do with not prescribing larger quantities at once.
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Apols, I subverted your thread. Your query was about home delivery.
But on the subject of unused meds(!!!), I recently found some self injecting stuff which I took for cluster headaches some years back. Took them back to the chemist as I thought that was what you're supposed to do but they declined them as the pack contained (unopened) single use injectors, all safely packed in a hard case. I actually had quite a job finding where to take them Eventually one of he local doctor's surgeries reluctantly agreed to.
Certainly ought not be passing meds around willy nilly, though I too hate seeing waste
Last edited by: smokie on Mon 23 Mar 20 at 13:25
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I too hate waste and there has been a lot of it with over-supply of my dozen or so bimonthly items. The pharmacist, in the same building, told me that, once they leave his hands, he can't guarantee they haven't ben tampered with and prove dangerous if recycled. I guess this sort of thing happens nationwide and must waste a fortune.
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I take 5 drugs. Each can be reissued only once per month. Given that the lack of alignment between monthly dose requirements and packaging size then none of them are aligned.
But, you can only go to the pharamcy the day before the last issued package is due to expire.
So I have to go to the pharmacy 5 times a month, sometimes only a day apart.
I've had lung conditions since I was 4 and they haven't changed other than worsening through age. You'd think they'd be able to take a stab in the dark and issue prescriptions for a few months at a time, wouldn't you.
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Local chemists have been rammed for the past week with panic-stocking of regular meds.
They've taken to closing 2 or 3 times during the day simply to resupply the shelves.
I expect this will settle over the next week or two tho, same as the supermarket nonsense will.
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Been in our village community pharmacy today to pick up Mrs B's repeats. They do at least all arrive together and there's no bar on ordering them early so she's got a reserve.
Place had been picked bare of anything containing paracetamol, even the 'designer' headache reliefs like Syndol (£9.00 for 32) were sold out. And of course just in time supply chains only work when supply upstream matches demand at the end.....
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>>
>> Place had been picked bare of anything containing paracetamol...
>>
...I have some Ibuprofen I could sell you........ ;-)
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>>
>> I expect this will settle over the next week or two tho, same as the
>> supermarket nonsense will.
>>
Bar toilet roll, Waitrose in Chichester was pretty much back to normal, and very quiet, mid afternoon today. And, champagne is 25% off... Panic over ;)
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Since my last post I've checked Echo on Trustpilot - reviews were fairly good until the last coupld of months, so they've probably been swamped by recent events. The post from Lygonos, however, gives me hope. I'd prefer not leave our Lloyds Pharmacy because there's a nice atmosphere amongst the staff, despite the aggro they face sometimes. Also, if the meds are not there when they should be, I can usually find out why face to face.
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Online medical prescriptions - henry k
